Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

Appreciate the input all. Going to call the dealer I bought the battery from tomorrow when they're open, and if I'm out of luck with a warranty or goodwill offer then I'll stop by and check out the Noco 5's and hope they're not super old stock and / or abused stock.

 

I don’t like tenders for that reason. It’s one of those issues that, ask 10 guys get 10 different answers, but in my view they do more harm than good. If it gets brutally cold I’ll cycle a tender across several bikes, giving each 24 hours here and there. Never just leave em. Any time I did that I ended up where you are now. I concede it makes no sense. Good luck with the replacement.

 

damn! that sucks man! idk how i have been lucky but none of my bikes including the old klx400 were never on a charger and they would sit through out winter and thankfully never had an issue! time will tell when i go to turn on the bolt thou! it hasnt moved in a very long time now sadly!

 

so, ridin down the road on my 1996



when I came to a red light, behind a Harley and a KZ900. Now me being a novice street rider, I was ALWAYS under the impression that Harley was the king, well the light turned green, and that Kaw gapped that Hawg like it was glued to the pavement. Two weeks later, there I was......

 

I am in the same camp. Every so often ill use my lil noco 1amp tender to top off everything and cycle it through the motos that sit / jetski batteries.

 

Swapped out the front sprocket today. Lot's of pics but the city decided to jam the internet, so I'll post a few later when the fuckery comes to an end.
Initial test ride around the block put a big smile on my face, the gears are noticeably longer now, and the take off from a dead stop feels great. Just had lunch to raise the blood sugar and about to get a proper test ride in.
Curious to see what the GPS says about the speedo, it's usually off by 4-5 mph, says I'm going faster than I actually am. I guess that keeps the tickets down.

 

FYI some tire dealios going on. I need a new front tire for the super tenere... hmmm. Need to assess what tires I want, currently have a road 6 thats about halfway through its life on the back of the tenere and a Continential trail attack 3 on front which is donezo.

 

15t sprocket and genuine Kawasaki "shims"

every Youtube video out there tries to run a bar thru the rear wheel against the swingarm to remove the nut with a wrench. I used a Snap-On 18v impact and held the tire by hand, tranny in neutral, and it spun right off.
Pic shows stock gear and the spline showing.

The shims are needed because stock has the machined boss on it and the JT does not.

stacked in exactly this order.

to get this.

and look like this.

just enough slack to slip it on, axle started out behind center, now it's in front of center.

And I wondered about this, no one ever mentions it, but the chain rubbed against the plastic guard. I hit it with a heat gun and gave it enough bend to clear and be quiet.

Took it for a ride. Best mod ever! Power band feels like it should now, has much better acceleration and no longer having to choose between high revs or lugging for around town riding. Vibrations actually feel to be much less. Not sure if that's just the lower RPM or the JT Sprocket is that much better than stock.

This is the 2nd mod I've done that actually had a real effect on performance. The first was the DNA air filter to let it breathe, that gave it some much needed low end, and now combined with taller gears, it feels more like a "real" bike.

 

Just wanted to say how great that thing looks. I was really interested in one. Finally got a chance to sit on one at the dealership and, sadly, was the least comfortable bike I had ever sat on. With my feet up on the pegs, felt perfect. But when I'd put my feet down, it dug into me something horrible. I'm pretty short (just over 5'5"). I tried shifting around, but nothing worked

 

I know what you're saying, I'm at 5'6", toes on the ground and it digs into me too. The seat (basically a vinyl covered 2x6) on that thing never gets rave reviews. Just gotta spend more time riding and less time standing. I bought an open cell pad for the seat and that helped a lot.

 

On todays episode of “huh, i wonder if that’d work”:

I bought the cheapest two pack of single button garage door opener remotes I could find, along with momentary buttons with adhesive and leads already attached. Remotes were $8/ea, buttons were $1.20/ea.

Two seconds with a soldering iron, little poke with an xacto knife, and voila. Stashable, hideable motorcycle garage door opener!

I’m going to try and stash it behind my dash, with the button just stuck with my other buttons and such. Totally will blend in.

$9 in parts!!! Best idea i’ve had in a long ass time.

 

I just tucked it into my handlebar bag and ran the button onto the velcro with a spot of self adhesive velcro! So pleased right now haha



$50, who wants one?

 

HMMMM now i got to thinking. Do i just get a set front and rear new for that bitching new all around feel... or do i just replace the front. Id keep the half used rear and keep it stored in a good spot and pop it on later when inevitably the rear gets worn out.


EDIT - Where are yall buying tires these days online? (i do my own mounting and balancing)

 

I usually use Rocky Mountain ATV.

 

Thats typically where I go. More than likely Ill end up with a full new set for the super tenere so I have a fresh set of tires for the "riding" season this summer even though riding hasnt ended at all #SoCal

 

Not the best pics, but they delivered my wife's Memphis Shades El Paso windscreen about two hours ago.

Took about 45 minutes to install, but 10 of that was trying to get all the parts outta the vacuum packed plastic/cardboard crap.

Before


After


Once she gets over about 45mph, the wind on her chest starts bugging her, and only gets worse as we speed up. This should help immensely. I was worried about it detracting from the looks of the bike, but you can barely even tell it's there. Obviously we haven't had it out yet, but so far I'd highly recommend. It's quick release, too. Not that she plans to take it off.

 

I think it looks good! No shame in some wind protection.

 

So @T-Rex266 did you actually put any miles on that CB500X before you upgraded?

 

Do you know if he sold/traded it in, already? I see he got that Eliminator, but couldn't tell if he still had the CB. I'm loving mine every chance I can get out on it.